This invention is directed to a process for fabricating a thin film magnetic structure and the magnetic structure fabricated thereby.
Many magnetic transducers employ magnetic layers, or soft adjacent layers (SALs), adjacent an insulating material. In inductive heads, the insulating material might be used for a gap for the magnetic transducer. Typically, the insulating material is deposited first (such as on another magnetic layer or on a substrate) and the magnetic layer is patterned on top of the insulating layer. Typically, a photoresist is patterned in the desired shape of the magnetic layer and a wet chemical etchant is applied to the exposed portions of the magnetic layer to shape the magnetic layer into the desired pole. The etchant employed in removing unwanted portions of the magnetic layer also often attacks the desired insulating layer, resulting in a reduction of the thickness of the insulating layer and a compromise of the characteristics of the transducer. There is, accordingly, a need for an etchant stop to protect the insulating layer and to form a part of the resulting gap.